2016+ Civic Intercooler – The Pipes Design Pt. 5

Let’s continue to unwrap our L15 FMIC kit! In thelast blog we dug into the importance of intercooler core design and shared some of the data we will be recording and reviewing to understand how well the intercooler core is performing.

In this update we are going to discuss the intercooler piping itself. You’ll learn why piping design is critical to the overall performance of the intercooler system. We’ll cover why we are still considering three inch piping.

First let’s take a quick glance at what Honda gives you from the factory.

OEM intercooler 2016+ Honda Civic 1.5T

This…ladies and gentlemen is the stock intercooler system found on your Civic. It’s very typical of OE manufacturing and leaves all kinds of performance on the table. Check out way more details in our “OE Intercooler System Breakdown Blog.”

Now a peak at the entire 27WON Intercooler System…

Wire reinforced silicone and integrated air-foils are just some of the things that REDEFINE an FMIC

The difference is drastic. From the piping, to the wire reinforced silicone couplers, to the substantially larger intercooler core -- the difference from OE to 27WON is incredible. BUT…size is not everything.

Let’s get our focus back on the piping. This might turn out to be the most significantly unique aspect of the our Intercooler Kit. We originally mentioned it here in a previous blog when we were discussing our design intent.

Left to right; 1.57” -> 3” -> 2.5” (cold pipe)

The OEM piping is not just small, its tiny. The OEM hot pipe has in inner diameter of 1.57 inches! 100% of the air entering your engine MUST flow through that tiny pipe.

Engines are just air pumps with a controlled internal explosion to create power. The easier it is to flow air in and out of the air pump (engine), the more efficient it will operate (power).

So, let’s open it up and help your engine breath. The 27WON Hot Pipe is bumped up to 2.25” vs the 1.57” OE pipe and the 27WON Cold Pipe is bumped up to 2.5”-3”.

Why the larger Cold Pipe? We want to get the hot air from the turbocharger to the intercooler as quickly as possible, it’s that simple. The Cold Pipe is a bit more complicated because it sits between the intercooler and the throttle body. The volume of air (length and diameter of piping) in the Cold Pipe can affect peak performance AND turbo response. We want to find the right balance here.

What we can share right now: While comparing the OE intercooler system to the 27WON System during track testing we found the 3 inch cold pipe felt great. We did not feel any boost lag or slow turbo response. The SI came onto boost strong and pulled through the RPM range. Next step is to critically review the data.

There are other critical features in the piping design of the 27WON intercooler kit. Every silicone coupler is designed with reinforcement wire to reduce swelling during high boost pressure. This design retains the flex that is need for engine movement and also holds its shape.

Lastly, we included another awesome feature in the 27WON Cold Pipe; methanol port for boost cooling and/or auxiliary fueling. We know these cars love boost and we know these cars are already hitting the limit for Direct Injection fuel capacity. We added this feature to make it much easier to overcome that barrier.

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